Not offensive, just stupid.

What connection does your girlfriend have to braille or blindness? The whole idea makes no sense to me. Figure out a marriage proposal that has connections to something that your girlfriend loves deeply.

Just the idea of this happening is making me uncomfortable.

It's not a bad idea, it's just a little weird. You could do so many other things with food that she'd understand rather than bring in a third party to essentially say "Hey, he's proposing to you."

There are multiple things with this that just make me yell no.

First, and perhaps the most important is the delivery. Contrary to previous replies, I do not think you are looking for, or expecting a relationship between the proposal and braille or blindness, but are rather looking for an exotic way to deliver your important message.

I believe that this must be something intimate, something personal between you and her, and having a third party just read it out for her would not be really fun. Partly because you are there, you could just tell her what you want, and partly because the third person could just pretend, especially if they know what this is about. If you really want to go with this idea, do not tell anyone, let them actually read it. I would also make sure the person is a girl, because generally in an emotional situation, the delivery can be much better. This is just a personal opinion, of course, feel free to argue.

What I suggest is actually make her work for it. A lot of people do proposals like a treasure hunt. In a way, reading braille can be a treasure hunt as well.

Have a candle or a flashlight ready, make sure they are all right with it. It greatly enhances the atmosphere, think of dinners at candlelight.

Have a printed braille alphabet on you. It can contain the characters you actually wrote (make sure they are mixed up), or the entire alphabet, it's up to you. This way, she will have to actually find the corresponding symbol and look down the other column to see what letter it refers to. It's much more entertaining and dramatic, but personal at the same time, since you are the only ones who have a light source. No third party is required.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

I don't think it's offensive at all. Kind of adorable, really. Problem: what will you and your GF actually get out of it? As others have said, neither of you have any relationship or connection with blindness and/or braille, and whether you're looking for one or not you kind of need one. Otherwise, my worry is the idea sounds a lot better in your head than it does put in practice. There's a fine line between weird and cute, and without knowing either you or your GF I think we'd all have a hell of a time figuring out which side of that line this sits on.

I have actually known some people who had a little bit of sight--which I guess technically qualifies as being sighted--and still use Braille. I don't think it's as common, but it can happen. Your best bet, I would think, is to ask the serving staff themselves. An honest question asked out of curiosity will most likely not offend anyone. I personally don't use Braille, as my impairment has much more impact on my distance vision than reading, but I can't see myself being offended to participate in something that is ultimately about building bridges, both between you and your girlfriend and between people of varying abilities.

I hope that makes sense.

Only if the server accepts the proposal and you have to marry them!

That idea is not offensive at all and in fact very cute

So I'm of the attitude that mainstreaming Braille only leads to greater acceptance and awareness, I do have to agree with the other commenters though that without having a direct connection it does come off as a little weird. What most of the commenters mean by this I think is that it's a form of cultural appropriation. Now what could be cool, is after your dining in the dark experience the server may "give you a puzzle" which is essentially will you marry me in Braille. I'd ake a print out of the Braille alphabet, you can use the excuse that they gave it to you, and find a nice place in a park or a spot that's memorable to the both of you and ask if she can translate it. As she's translating it, she probably won't get to the knee part, you need to go ahead and surprise her with a ring. That way it's encompassed in your entire night and making something special rather than coming off as cultural appropriation. Do it for you and her and not for social media attention and you'll be fine. But if it's something you plan on filming I would find a different idea.